Five Things That Inspire Xerox People

Erin Gillard joined Xerox in 2015 and manages employee communications for Xerox’s Canadian operations.

One of the things I love most about my job at Xerox is that I get to work with people in various groups and lines of business. They give me a sneak peek into the innovations they’re working on, how they’re solving business problems for our customers, and how they keep the engine of our business running.

Sometimes we get so busy with the day-to-day that we don’t stop to reflect on who we are as an organization, and why we work so hard to make Xerox succeed. Here are five things about Xerox and Xerox people that inspire me.

Xerox people love Xerox

Xerox people are proud of Xerox. I recently worked on an external award application and each person I spoke to when hunting down information immediately got excited about the project. I was getting emails at 10 p.m. saying “I just remembered! You should include this!” Everyone had a story to tell about why they came to Xerox, why they stay at Xerox, and why they genuinely believe this is a great place to grow their careers. Their pride fuels this organization. We believe in Xerox, so we make it succeed. This is our secret sauce and what makes Xerox so unique.

We are innovating for the future

The Xerox Research Centre of Canada achieved it’s 2,500th U.S. patent, thanks to senior research scientists Valerie Farrugia and Barkev Keoshkerian.

Xerox PARC is famous for their innovations in the tech industry and was an early pioneer of so many tech inventions that we today take for granted. As an innovation junkie, I am always inspired by the incredible work Xerox is doing in all of our research centers around the world. For example, at the Gil Hatch Centre for Customer Innovation in Webster, New York – the world’s largest digital print showcase – our researchers work every day on new innovations to better serve our customers. In Aubagne, France, researchers at our IMPIKA Inkjet Innovation Centre develop, industrialize and manufacture inkjet printing solutions. They give a Xerox answer to the questions about the ever-changing print market standards and opportunities.

As a Canadian, I am especially proud of the Xerox Research Centre of Canada in Mississauga, Ontario. Talented minds are connecting the physical and digital worlds, and building the future of tomorrow – today. Xerox is the only company in our industry that invests in research and development in Canada, and I love how we are inventing for the future.

Who needs yoga? We’re so flexible

Things like working from home, flex hours and time off check a lot of boxes here. At Xerox, you can work from anywhere and still be successful, which is a major advantage for the younger generation that’s entering our workforce right now. As I write this, I am in a coffee shop editing a newsletter for employees. Earlier I was on a video conference from my office in Toronto, Ontario with my colleagues in Norwalk, Connecticut, and Rochester, New York, who I’ve never met face to face, but who I feel like I know personally. The freedom to balance my personal life with my professional life makes me happier and more successful.

Pete Peterson, Senior Vice President of Global Channel Strategy, and his team celebrate the Channelnomics Innovation Award for Global Partner Program of the Year.

Diversity is a big deal here

Diversity has been a hot topic for many years, but at Xerox, we don’t just talk the diversity talk – we are actively committed to ensuring that every voice is heard. This commitment began in the 1960’s during the civil rights movement. As our society and company evolve, our work here is never done. I spoke with the incredible Beverly Stallings-Johnson, who manages our Global Diversity and Inclusion programs, to understand the full scope of our diversity engagement. It ranges from ensuring we have minority and female representation for senior roles through the Wilson Rule, to guaranteeing the diversity of our suppliers and vendors. If you haven’t visited the Global Diversity and Inclusion page on Xerox.com, take a look and learn more about our D&I practices.

At a Xerox-hosted invention convention for grade school children, Jim Frankunas, a Xerox engineer and Science Consultant, examines “Slather Sizzle,” which will help keep your barbecue grill clean.

We care about our communities and the environment

I’ve always been active in my community as a volunteer, so it’s important for me to work at a company that cares about giving back. What I love about our corporate giving strategy is that Xerox people are active decision makers in which causes the company supports. The results here are too impressive not to share. Over the past two years, Canadian operations donated more than $1.2 million to our communities, and our people gave over 4,980 hours of volunteer time – that’s about 620 work days. In 2017, U.S. employees volunteered more than 100,000 hours for the causes that matter to them.

Xerox, our communities and the environment

Our Sustainability Commitment: This briefing paper shows how Xerox balances the social, environmental, and economic needs of business today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs.

Our sustainability story is also amazing. As an early champion of environmental sustainability, Xerox is an

ConnectKey, a powerful technology from Xerox that helps collaborators communicate, connect and work from anywhere.

ENERGY STAR Charter Partner. That means we helped define the standards for energy-saving attributes for imaging equipment product certification more than 25 years ago, and we still help ENERGY STAR define standards. I’m also especially proud of how we help our customers achieve their sustainability goals through programs like the Print ReLeaf partnership. Here in Canada, more than half of our offices are LEED Gold or BOMA certified. We truly are creating positive impacts for our communities and our planet.

All of these things remind me that Xerox is a great place to work. I love that we are always evolving and innovating and finding new ways to help our customers to work better – and that’s why I am so proud to be a Xeroid.

2 Comments

Outstanding commitments: to our customers, to our business and to each other – we ARE proud #TeamXerox ! Thanks for these Friday round-up of highlights to remind us how – You. Belong. Here!
(and we welcome new talent to come join this amazing organization!)

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About Xerox

Xerox is an $11 billion technology leader that innovates the way the world communicates, connects and works. Our expertise is more important than ever as customers of all sizes look to improve productivity, maximize profitability and increase satisfaction. We do this for small and mid-size businesses, large enterprises, governments, graphic communications providers, and for our partners who serve them. We understand what’s at the heart of work – and all of the forms it can take. We embrace the increasingly complex world of paper and digital. Office and mobile. Personal and social. Every day across the globe – in more than 160 countries – our technology, software and people successfully navigate those intersections. We automate, personalize, package, analyze and secure information to keep our customers moving at an accelerated pace. For more information visit www.xerox.com.